Quick report
Springtime weather and dynamic snowpack conditions. Generally low danger in the morning, changed as the sun and warm temperatures helped weaken the upper snowpack. We left before things got too touchy.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 35
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Rain Elevation
- 5500
- Recent Snowfall
- 2
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
A beautiful spring day! After a cool start to the morning, temperatures rose quickly. Winds were light and variable. And, there was plenty of sunshine.
Snowpack
There wasn't much new snow at Crystal. We only found a inch or two above 6000ft. Along ridgelines, you could see where the new snow was blow into small slabs. These firm pockets wouldn't even crack when tested. Even still we weren't willing to step onto very steep or unsupported wind loaded slopes.
Below the new snow, a relatively firm crust has formed. This layer was not entirely boot-supportable.
On E-S-W aspects the new snow and underling crust became wet and weak. We were able to trigger rollerballs and saw a few release as snow shed from trees. We didn't find any new wet loose slides, but we left the mountains before the heat of the day.
Below the surface, the snowpack was still layered and relatively dry. In a profile on a NE facing slope at 6150ft, snowpack tests repeatedly failed and propagated on a layer of weak wet snow just above what is likely the Early April Crust. What stuck us was how the snowpack remained layered and complex, suggesting it hadn't transitioned to spring despite all the recent warm weather.
Other Hazards: While not as widespread as other years, we found several large looming cornices. They are starting to droop and could fail with little or no warning. Open creeks, holes, and bare ground were also common. Lots of spring time hazards out there.
Avalanche
We found a few natural wet loose avalanches from Tuesday. They were generally small. More widespread and larger wet avalanches from last weekend were prevalent in many paths.